Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Call me 'A Pimp Named Slick Back'

Finally had a chance to catch up on some Tivo'd (well...technically DVR'd) programs, one of which is Aaron McGruder's The Boondocks (on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim,) adapted from his excellent comic strip. I have to confess I'm a bit let down based on first impressions... this past weekends' episode ("Guess Hoe's Coming to Dinner", ep. 1.02) exemplified why the series doesn't come near the excellence of the strip. When you have only three panels (or so) to get your point (and laugh) across, it's challenging... and McGruder's work in the field is pure genius. As I see it, the series currently suffers from a timing issue. The scenes are set up and McGruder's point of view is made well enough, but the comic timing just isn't there yet, and perhaps it's a learning process.

That being said, I sure hope it sticks around so McGruder can catch his stride with this series, because it has a lot of promise. The fact that Bill Cosby has already come out against the show also has me rooting for it. Lou Grant, Adam West and Charlie Murphy have already done voice-overs for it, and hopefully there will be more to come.

Kanye West's "Gold Digger" and Curt Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead" made there way into this past week's episode, which was, you can imagine from the title and the songs, about a prostitute who's eyeing Grandad's riches, but in the end goes running back to her purple-clad pimp (hysterically named "A Pimp Named Slickback")